Precious Things
by Perseverance
Summary: Kaoru has known one thing most of her life, and that was being Tomoe’s best friend. Then the stumble into reality revealed what she least expected, choosing between her boyfriend or her best friend.


AN: This story is rated for mature content such as adult language and sexual content. If you are under the age of seventeen, please do not read. Originally this is a two part so I will try to have the second part in as soon as possible. Also I like reviews for they show me that you are interested in what you are reading. But I will not tolerate flames.

Italics- Flashback

Disclaimer: I am _not_ the soul owner of Rurouni Kenshin anime. Nobuhiro Watsuki is the proud owner of it. But I _do_ own my story.

Part I

_Children squealed as they ran after one another in the school playground. There were the boys whom played sports or had a fascination of either scaring the girls by doing silly things and sliding down the silvery swirled new slide. The girls played hopscotch, showed off their agility on the monkey bars, or played little mini-games such as red light green light one two three, truth or dare, etc. All but one child had fun. That one child sat down in a far corner, alienating herself from the other rest of kids for she was far from them and always would be._

_When people looked at her, they saw a scrawny kid with bushy midnight hair, eyes too wide for her fragile face, nose too pointy, and lips very thin. When they were asked to describe her, they said she was very much like a stick. To make it worse, her style of dressing did her form no justice and she wore glasses, thus causing her peers to call her "four eyes."_

_She was accustomed to the ill-treating, to being scorned, and avoided. But she was also accustomed to making high marks in her class, receiving special scholarships to further her education in her high-class school, receiving academic awards, and most definitely being left with majority of the work to do for her peers._

_The bullies came after class when she had to get on the yellow school bus. Many times she missed her ride home and had the walk the long miles to reach home. And every time she was late, she fabricated one story after another. Recently she told her parent about rehearsing a play. It explained why she came late in the afternoon. However, it could not account for the black and blue bruises on her body her mother glimpsed one day. Since that day, she became her mother's priority._

_Looking down at her book, she noticed a shadow encasing the page she was about to read. Frowning, she glanced up to see a beautiful girl with dark silky hair, wearing light colors, standing before her. Her eyes widened when she realized the most popular girl was standing there before her. Oh hell, there was going to be trouble._

_She looked once again at her book, awaiting crude words to stab pain within her heart. Her mind begged for it to be over so she could lick her wounds behind the pages of her book. Unfortunately the pretty girl did not say a word to her. She could only feel the girl's stare. She could feel her palms sweating with anxiety. Her heart raced with abnormal rhythm. Her body stiffened with the uncomfortable position of sitting with her back upright and shoulders straightened. It was too much to bear._

_"You're Kaoru, right?" the pretty girl asked. She watched as the pretty poised for what could have been a famous magazine. The pretty girl put her hands on her hips while her stunning brown eyes looked down at her. Yes, the pretty girl was a statue put on the highest pedestal where everyone could worship her from afar._

_Nodding her head slightly, she brought her book to her chest to cover her over pounding heart. She looked down again at her now empty lap, waiting for the bashing of words to crush her soul. But the pretty girl continued to stare at her. After what seemed like forever, the agony of minutes shattering her resolve and determination, she closed her book, and got up from her seat._

_"I'm Tomoe," the pretty girl said. She just nodded her head before lowering it and stepped aside to pass the girl but the girl side stepped in front of her, blocking her once again. "Why are you always alone?"_

_She did not answer because she had no right to say anything to the most popular girl in school._

_"It must feel lonely," the pretty girl replied but she did not have time to take her on. Looking down at her watch, she saw the time and figured that recess was almost over. "I have seen you around and I always wondered if we could be friends."_

_That completely surprised her. Here she was different from all the rest of kids. And here she was, the most popular girl was asking to become friends with her. Something was up, yet when she looked at the beautiful face of the most popular girl standing before her, she could not sense any evil attentions in the air. There was honesty and kindness in her eyes that triggered hope in heart._

_Out stretching her hand, she waited for the pretty girl's hand to clasp her hand. Once they did, they exchanged formal greetings, however little did she know what to expect in the upcoming years._

Kaoru had become a shadow, her identity swallowed long before she could actually find herself among a crowd. Everywhere the beautiful Tomoe Yukishiro was, she was somewhere close by, practically lagging behind like some dog starved from food and affection. To tell the truth, Tomoe was like a saint who came into her life and rights the wrongs and undid her natural ways. Tomoe taught her to dress, to talk, to walk, to eat, and the social places both in and out of school. Because of Tomoe, she established a make over to present her as a reasonable companion. But she could never compare to Tomoe. Tomoe would sparkle whereas she would glow. Tomoe was beautiful whereas she would not have others glance twice at her. Tomoe was all and she was fortunate to be her best friend.

Only three people recognize her for her difference and one of them was nearby her as she watched her best friend laughed softly at a remark someone said.

"Why do you look at her like that?" a familiar voice asked breaking her attention from Tomoe. "What is there to admire?"

She gasped at his questions and turned her petite form to his direction. Her slender finger moved to his lips to silence him while her wide blue eyes stared at him with astonishment. "Do you not see why? Are you that blind?"

Slowly he brought his strong hands over her hand and removed that poor gesture to silence him. He kissed her hand lovingly before replying. "No I don't see a thing. I guess I am blind."

She inhaled swiftly as she saw the deep tenderness in his amethyst eyes. And she leaned against him while sighing in relief to feel his strong arms embracing her. "She's beautiful, smart, intelligent, compassionate, understanding. She's everything I am not."

"She's not warm, funny," he moved closer and puffed gently against the shell of her right ear, "or feels as good as you do."

Kaoru quickly shoved away from him, stumbling on her own two feet. Clutching desperately to anything within her reach, she latched onto a guy nearby before finding her balance. She apologized before glancing at Kenshin Himura also known as her boyfriend. And she cursed the heavens for finding amusement twinkling in his amethyst eyes. He looked so deadly, just relaxing back in a soft cushiony chair. His arms rested casually over his head, his long fiery red hair swept up in an untamed ponytail, his clothes displayed the contours of his muscled lean figure. Agitated, she rubbed her sweaty palms against her thighs as she felt the urgent need to enwrap his silky hair around her hands. Oh how she loved his hair!

"Don't say things you're not sure of. If you never bothered to get to know someone, then you shouldn't act as if know them." She staggered back at his calm gesture. Now fuming, she stomped her foot, her high heeled shoe made a clunk sound amongst the crowd around her. Just then, the DJ stirred some fast beating music, which furthered worst the scenario and caused her to turn away from her boyfriend. So she never heard him call her name and even saw when he stood and moved to reach her.

Before contact could be made between the couple, someone stepped in the way and Kaoru went to the bathroom and shut the door, locking herself from the outside world, shuddering at the memory when she recalled their first meeting.

_She was standing in the schoolyard where she waited for Tomoe to show up. Tomoe mentioned meeting her at 12pm but it was 12:34pm. Dang! Tomoe was running late again. Usually her best friend did not run late without a good explanation or at least that was what she thought. Others around her thought her reasons for being late were lame. Was she the only one who understood Tomoe?_

_Not too far from her, they were a bunch of guys playing football. Their shouts caught her attention and before she could turn their direction, a football hit her square in the face causing both of her hands to cover her face._

_"Are you okay?" asked a warm masculine voice. She wanted to vent her fury at him, to yell at the other boys to play somewhere else. Or maybe she could sue them for hitting her in the face with a ball. Tomoe might agree with that point. Instead she peered through hands and meekly nodded._

_"Are you sure?" he questioned. "We are terribly sorry." He moved closer to her and she automatically shifted away from his reach._

_"I think you should let me see your wound," he persisted as he moved her direction._

_She furiously shook her head while trying to get away from his reach. The notion of him touching her, especially since he was one of the popular students made her flush. She was a no one. She was only known as the girl who followed Tomoe and a want-to-be. Yet he never let down from his cause._

_She darted away as his hands reached for her and then all at once stumbled over something causing her to crash into him. While falling against him, her hands moved away from her face to hit his chest. And then they were on the floor; she sprawled against him, her limbs tangled with his._

_"I am so sorry," she said quickly as tried her best to detangle herself from him to only fall against his chest again. Her cheeks flushed when she looked at the person she collided into and gasped. He was so handsome, with his fiery tied at the nape of his neck, his lean figure up so close to her body, his eyes staring at with amusement._

_And then the shouts around her broke her from her stupor. "I am so sorry." She tried once again to detangle herself, only this time she received assistance from him. Smiling gratefully she bowed before leaving but he was there in front of her with a blink of an eye. Blinking again, her eyes portraying confusion, she never noticed when his hands gently brushed her face._

_"I think we should head to the school nurse," he said ever so softly. Her cheeks flushed, her mind savored his gentle touch. And for a moment she wondered what it would be like to be in his arms, to be loved by him…_

_"Your face is getting swollen." And those words broke her from her stupor. She shrieked and brought her hands to her face remembering the injury due to the stupid football. Damn, here she was in front of one of most popular good-looking guys and she looked like some distorted girl. Could her day get any worse?_

_Turning around, she walked toward school, mentally noting to call Tomoe and inform her about this situation. Tomoe would understand, after all they were best friends and best friends understood each other._

_So lost in her thoughts, she never noticed when a figure was walking behind her until she looked down at the ground. Her brows furrowed the moment she made out the shadow to be the handsome guy and she turned to glare at him._

_"Stop following me!" she yelled. "Your friends hit me with their stupid football, you apologized, you stubbornly pestered me until you saw my injury and now you're here to do what?" Inside, the bubble burst._

_He raised his hands to notify his defeat and those tempting lips of his curved upward into a lopsided smile. That movement caused her pulse to quicken. "I just thought to accompany you to the nurse's office."_

_Her eyes narrowed as she thought out his reason and stubbornly shook her head. "I am fine. I could walk myself to the nurse's office and I could get there in one piece without your assistance."_

_Yet that smile would not leave his face and he would not turn to walk away._

_"Did you not hear a word I said?" she asked while crossing her arms over her chest. This situation seemed so bizarre. Usually she was not one to be so defensive or so outright spoken and here she was doing these two things. There was something about him that brought this side of her and it terrified her._

_"I know you could walk yourself to the nurse's office, but what kind of guy would I be not to accompany you?" he asked._

_And his question did something to stir an emotion deep inside her. What type of emotion?_

_"So you're saying you like to accompany me to the nurse's office because it's the right thing to do…" she clarified. With a nod of his head, the feeling came back only this time it hit her harder. Was that disappointment?_

_"Okay then but keep your distance," she retorted. She turned around and headed the direction to the nurse's office. It only took a couple of steps before he began speaking with her again._

_"I never got your name."_

_Stopping dead in her tracks caused him to collide with her and before she knew it, they were on the floor once again, with her sprawled against him. "If this keeps happening, the least I could do is get your name."_

_She growled her frustration and gave in to his whim. "My name is Kaoru Kamiya. Now please stop pestering me." To her dislike he got up before her, then he outstretched his hand to assist her once again. That jackass. But her body disagreed with her thoughts. Her body liked feeling his strong, warm body against hers. For some odd reason, the press of his body against her body reminded her how feminine she was and the reality of the world._

_"By the way, my name is Kenshin Himura." She just growled in return before removing her hand from his hand and stomping her to the nurse's office._

From that moment they became a couple. He would not leave her to be. Constantly he was where she was, doing something stupid to make her mad. He would talk to Tomoe to get close to her. And one day after a serious confrontation, they became something more. She fell in love with him.

But what if she had to choose between him and Tomoe?

Closing her eyes, she inhaled a deep breath. She hastily moved to the bathroom mirror and checked her appearance. Staring back at her was her reflection. Her ruby painted lips smudged from Kenshin kisses, her hair in a disarray from his wandering hands, her clothes ruffled due to her uncompromising position on him when they were making out and her teary eyes. Bringing her hands to touch her face, she gasped at the feeling of the moisture. Was she crying?

Looking down at her hands, tears slipped from her face dropping one by one on her hand. And she watched with utter fascination, as the tears would not stop falling from her eyes. Why was she crying?

She buried her face in her hands after a moment, returning to the real world. Her resolve was broken as she remembered how Kenshin insulted her best friend. It was wrong of him to say something about someone without knowing him or her. Yes, he talked to Tomoe and they hung out a couple times but he really did not know her.

So what did she mean by him knowing her?

"Did you hear?" asked one girl, the voice seemed to squeal through the thin wooden door catching her attention instantly. Turning around, she walked to the door to lean her face against the flat surface. The pounding of the music seemed softer, giving her a better chance to hear the conversation outside.

"Tomoe's bitch got into a fight with her boyfriend and now he's fucking with someone else," said the same girl. And Kaoru gasped at the information. Her eyes widened as her heart pounded heavily at the revelation. No, Kenshin would never do that. He would never cheat on her for he loves her. Or does he?

"What?" Apparently the others outside reacted the same as she did. "You sure?"

"Who else has long fiery red hair tied in a low ponytail tied at the nape of his neck, walks as though he's ready to pounce, and have a smug quality that makes females swoon? The last I checked, I came across one guy possessing those features."

"I always knew their relationship would not last," answered another girl. "Kenshin had a reputation before getting with that girl. But not only that, he could never have Tomoe. She was too good for him."

"Wait, are you saying he used Tomoe's bitch to get closer to her?" question the girl who spoke earlier.

"I am saying he dated Tomoe's bitch to add to his collection of females and now he's fucking Tomoe upstairs." No. It could not be. Kaoru brought her hands to cover her ears, but the fresh lines from those girls iterated in her mind, until she crazily shook her head with belief. All the times he pestered her. All the times he looked at her with those tender eyes. He spoke of her as a treasure and made her feel complete. Damn it, she really loved him!

And he became precious to her.

He stole her heart within time by slowly courting her. Every time they went out, he surprised her with something new. It was from there she realized that he was not what others thought him to be. He wasn't arrogant, self-centered, or the cocky minded jerk people perceived him to be. He was kind, generous, and very open minded.

Could they not see that? Was she the only one who understood him?

Shaking her head to answer her question, she jerked the door open to see the group of girls gawking at her with disbelief. From their pale faces, she assumed they did not have any knowledge of her presence in the bathroom. Refusing to look at their agate expressions, she passed them like a noble with her head help up high, her shoulders upright, and her spine straightened. She walked across the room, passing the gaps, squeezing through swaying bodies. However, the crowd seemed to part at her accost to the stairs. Glances turned her direction; their bizarre reactions toward her stirred something deep within her, an emotion so long forgotten. Regret.

With each footstep up the stairs, made her heart swell as her body screamed to run. Yet her stubbornness made her moved the extra steps up the stairs until she reached the very top of the staircase. Again people stopped whatever they were doing to glance her direction. They seemed to part as she walked straight ahead. Indirectly they pointed the room, where supposedly Kenshin was fucking Tomoe. Her heart swelled with each step. Her body screamed to run. Her mind was determined to find the truth behind the bedroom door. And so she walked until she reached the end of the hallway and was facing the door.

But what came from behind the bedroom stunned her.

She was no innocent to love making. Kenshin was her first the night she decided to her lose virginity to him. That night of shared passion between them made her memorize the steamy ecstasy. She knew his groans and knew what that devil fingers of his could do to her body. Judging from the noise beyond that door, it was no ordinary fucking, but perhaps love making ensuing between two people who felt more of something then mutual interest.

And fuck him for lying! Fuck him for using her to add to his list of females! Fuck him for using her to get to Tomoe!

And damn Tomoe for making her a bitch!

Without thinking twice about her actions, Kaoru grabbed an ornament from a shelf next to her with one hand while the other hand turned the doorknob. With a fling open to the door, she was unprepared for what she came across. Before her, Kenshin hovered above Tomoe's half naked form. Both of them, stunned from their position on the bed of satin sheets, watched her and she could have sworn she saw an odd glint in those eyes of his. Did his eyes change color?

Shaking her head, she tossed the ornament across the wall. It hit the wall and shattered to pieces. "I trusted the both of you!" she yelled, her swamped up emotions getting into the way of any rational thinking. The discovery of betrayal flowed strongly in her veins, singing eerily in her head. The years of being used as a ragged doll interrupted her senses. And red filled her vision. "I, like the fucking fool, fell dumbly to your tricks! I, like the fucking fool, became blinded by the need of your acceptance! When the real truth was you were fucking toying with me all along!"

She began to pace back and forth in the room. Her shouts caused an audience to appear behind her. "I trusted you both and you used me," she replied calmer then before, the rigid stance of her body seemed to relax as her vision began to clear. "You two were so close to me. I would have been willing to do almost anything for you. All you had to do was ask. I was most grateful to the both of you for being my friends. Sometimes I wonder what I did to have great friends like you. I guess I know the real meaning behind the word friendship. But to toy with me for years, to break me and create me into what you fashioned to me to be was wrong."

The tears began to fall from her eyes. She slightly shook her head as everything dawned on her. When she was a child, she still had an identity. But Tomoe came and swiped the last remaining of her dignity and degraded her to property. She became Tomoe's servant, Tomoe's bitch, and Tomoe's shadow. Tomoe made sure to make her completely depended on her.

It was heartbreaking.

It was soul wrenching.

It was downright evil.

And with nothing left she turned and fled the scene.


End file.
